1995 Safari Trek with 6.5L GM Diesel

[2112]

I was at PPL a few days ago and came across a real nice little 1995 Trek running a 190HP GM 6.5L diesel. Not being familiar with the engine I did some research. Are these engines as much trouble as I am reading? My take was to stay far away from it.

Anyone here still running this engine or have any real life experience with it?

[SolidAxleDurang]

Engine is dog squeeze.

[Fleet_Man]

I had a 1995 3/4 Silverado with that engine. Fuel economy was fantastic but that was about all I can say for it. It was not a powerhouse by any means and the electronic control module failed about every 30,000 miles like clockwork. It was a cooling problem caused by poor engineering. GM supposedly fixed the problem at a later date. I traded it on an early '99 7.3 Ford PSD, which I still have, before the 100,000 mile engine warranty expired.

[robatthelake]

Run Forest Run!

[gswcgi]

Had one, couldn't wait to get rid of it. It was a maintenance nightmare and that was a new one.I believe GM took a V-8 gas engine and re-engineered it to be a diesel. at least that's what I was told. I have owned 5 other diesels...a Mercedes, 3 Cummins and a CAT, they were/are all great. Currently own a Cummins in a Dodge pick up and a CAT in my RV. Go with a manufacturer who makes real diesels.

[2112]

This doesn't seem to be a very reliable engine and it being 20 years old doesn't make things better. I have that feeling we will become stranded on the side of the road at the worse moment. I'm walking away from this one.

Thanks for your input.

[cbigham]

Too bad. Some issues with the fuel pump, other minor, fixable stuff. I had a k5 blazer with the 6.2L precursor, put 364k on it. Same engine. Was 15 years ago but the parts were cheap, relatively easily serviced. Put two pumps in it, injectors once, and a glow plug controller twice. Tranny was weak, but not what you get with the motorhome..

[Mike_Hohnstein]

Shown as SOLD.

[Chopperbob]

My girlfriend's 1997 with the 454 vortec works great
Reliable and any shop can fix it.
Went to the recent rally at Q and was not impresed
With the 6.5. Check on the Trek Tracks site.
Bob

[rgatijnet1]

You could go to this forum and ask the people that own Treks about their experiences with the 6.5 diesel. Trek Tracks

[wolfe10]

The Chevy 6.5 V8 diesel is certainly not up to the power, economy or longevity of the Caterpillars, Cummins or 2 stroke DD's.

If your plans call for not too many miles and high speeds are not important to you, it might be worth considering. Here are several companies that specialize in parts for them, including upgrade parts for the more problematic components.